I am very happy that light has been shed on the abortion issue by Kaelen Burton and Charles Lovekin. This an issue that is not discussed enough. I have noticed that the opposition that Burton and Lovekin are facing, specifically the letter last week entitled “Women have the right to decide about abortion” only discusses women’s reproductive rights.

This is a serious issue because abortion is not about women’s reproductive rights. Women’s reproductive rights include condoms, the pill, birth control patches and whatever else prevents conception. When there is another human being inside of someone, it no longer is a discussion about women’s rights but rather about the person in the womb’s rights. They have the right to be born.

The letter from last week also mentioned that Lovekin gave no arguments for women in extreme circumstances. As terrible as rape and incest are (and by the way, the result of pregnancy from rape or incest is very very small), they are never the baby’s fault. That baby has no less of a right to life than you or I because something terrible happened to the mother. Ending the baby’s life will not give the mother any faster healing than if she carried the baby to full term. 

Also, termination when the mother’s life is in danger is not what the issue is about (this is another topic). This conversation is about elective abortion.

I am happy that this issue is coming to the surface and that people are talking about it. I look forward to any pro-life events that will be held on the Island in the near future.

— Kate Mullen